


Devil's Advocate

by celestial_light



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Trauma, Cody and Obi-Wan discuss trauma, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27418624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestial_light/pseuds/celestial_light
Summary: “My master was nothing like Jango Fett.”Ahh. There it was. Cody had finally struck a nerve. Perhaps it was a dumb move to compare the man who had practically raised him (had he, though? Cody was not entirely sure what role a Master played in a Padawan’s life) to the man who had tried to murder him in cold blood.orCody and Obi-Wan have an honest heart-to-heart about complicated father figures.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 204





	Devil's Advocate

**Author's Note:**

> I am my own beta, sadly lmao. If there's any spelling errors, feel free to correct me. And I'm sorry if this comes off as mechanical, it's been ages since I've written fanfic this long. Most of my free writing time has gone to my grad school essays.
> 
> Also wanted to post this in the midst of my election anxiety XD Comments and Kudos welcomed!

Their catastrophe began with a seemingly harmless correction. Well not a  _ correction _ , more of an assertion on Cody’s end. 

After a particularly prolonged campaign, the 212th battalion had returned to their flagship with less men than prior, coupled with an exhaustion unlike any they had ever experienced. Their enemy had used psychological torture to weed them out--attacking them while they slept, sabotagoing their food rations and medical stations, and starting small skirmishes as a means to tire the clones out. 

Such insidious antics were never allowed in war, though the line between civility and brutality had been blurred the moment Obi-Wan had feigned a surrender against the seperatist so many months ago. If he stooped low, the Speratisrt Army had sought to stoop lower. And it seemed as if they had nearly achieved it. 

Obi-Wan had relied on the Force more than usual during this campaign, reaching out in order to unravel their separatists counterparts' schemes, and hone in on the location of operation so that they could be over and done with the planet. It hadn’t come without it’s fair share of death and despair. And of those who survived, the trauma would leave far deeper scars. 

He had ushered his men to sleep and rest upon arriving on the flag ship, only keeping the essential crewmen awake, and urging them to change their rotation schedules so that everyone could rest.

That said, Obi-Wan had opted to dedicate his mind to other places aside from sleep. 

Unfortunately, he never stopped being a Jedi just because a battle was over. If it wasn’t paper work that needed his attention, it was something else. And regardless, he’d rather give his attention to his work than to his sleep--anything to keep his mind from wandering to the shit show of a campaign he had just managed to make it out of. If only he’d reached out into the Force earlier like a damned Jedi was supposed to do, the fight could have been over before it started, before it dragged on for a month. 

Tiredelty, he settled himself down in the cafeteria. It was quiet, save for a few clones here and there who gobbled down the tasteless glop being served. Obi-Wan himself had opted for a bitter caf, intending to stay up the night sorting out the work the council had given him. It looked like one of the masters had turned their attention to writing an encyclopedia of fighting techniques, and was wanting to include his late Master’s fighting style in the book. Obi-Wan of course had been granted the tasks of sifting through old holos, journals, and documentation all regarding Qui-Gon Jinn. 

Prior to this campaign Obi-Wan would have been as happy as he could to work through his old Master’s records--which on a good day wasn’t very happy at all. Today, it was absolutely dreadful. He loathed to be reminded of his shortcomings as a Jedi master and how  _ wonderfully _ he’d raised Anakin. 

The man was never short on criticism, and he was sure if he had survived past his unfortunate encounter with Maul, he would either live breathing down Obi-wan’s neck, or would have cast him aside completely. Qui-Gon Jinn was just awful like that. 

Yet, a small part of him felt rather joyus at seeing his old Master again. 

Though Qui-Gon was harsh, he had meant well. His training had strengthened Obi-Wan, and he’d have it no other way. At least that’s what he told himself. He should be thankful, after all. The man had rescued him from the Agri-Corps. Anything after that, he could justify. Albeit begrudgingly. It wasn’t as anyone else noticed how awful the man had been. For all Obi-Wan knew, he was reading into it too much. 

Nevertheless, it was still an incredibly taxing task. 

As he began to unravel his work, his irritability was instantly soothed as a warm, comforting presence settled behind him followed by the strong scent of sweet, barely recognizable caf. Cody had a habit of defiling his caf with unnatural amounts of sugar and creamer. The one time Obi-Wan had sipped from his mug had been the  _ last.  _ Cody’s sweet tooth gave the younglings a run for their money. 

Though the Jedi could always overlook his Commander’s shortcomings. Cody was a joy to have around. 

“Mind if I join you, Sir?”   
  
That said, Obi-Wan bit back an overly excited, “Of course!”

Cody needed his rest more than anyone, and unlike Obi-Wan had not promised his spare time to the Jedi Council. 

“Unfortunately this time Cody, I do.” Obi-Wan tried to muster up all the sternness he had left at that moment, knowing Cody needed a stern hand to deter him from work (their dedication to work after hours was one of the many similarities between them), “You deserve some rest after  _ that  _ catastrophe.”

  
If the Jedi complained about Obi-wan’s lack of self care, then the troops complained about Cody’s. And in Obi-Wan’s opinion, his Commander had it worse than him. At least he could return to the Jedi temple and lock himself away in peace and serenity. Cody had no such option. 

“Right after you, General.” He responded, any hint of exhaustion or wear virtually undetectable, “Now what are we doing here?”

Obi-wan groaned, and ran a hand through his hair. Regardless of how he felt, detering Cody would require using energy he didn’t have. Part of him assumed his commander already knew this. 

“Fine, I concede,” he sighed with slight humor, “You win, Cody.” The clone returned his sigh with a weary smile. Obi-Wan’s gaze lingered on his Commander slightly. He wondered why Cody didn’t just sleep.    
  


He explained his task to Cody during their exchange, eventually siphoning off some of his technology to the clone.

Cody’s eyes moved back and forth as the datapad handed him ignited to life. His hands moved second, making note and highlighting passages and text.. Obi-Wan watched on as the lines in Cody’s face soothed, and the tension he thought he was hiding so well begin to ease away. He always looked like this when he was reading, specifically reading history. It was a hobby of his, often done before he arrived on a planet as he learned more about the inhabitants or history prior to the clone wars. Cody loved learning about culture as well, and he supposed that giving him the opportunity to sift through Qui-Gon’s old journals was like an early birthday present. 

Obi-Wan always figured Cody would be a good teacher if he wasn’t a commander. Part of him hoped that they both lived long enough to see that happen. And that he lived long enough to see Cody have his own rights. Another part of him soured at that thought--not at Cody being able to teach history, but at his very real role in keeping Cody from doing so.

“...And I have absolutely no idea what any of this is about, but it’s interesting nonetheless…” 

  
Obi-Wan blinked, shocked. Had Cody been speaking!? And had he been just starting at him like a creep the entire time. At that moment, he was so very thankful for his beard, as his face had no doubt turned several shades of red.

“Um, let me see.” Obi-Wan hurriedly took the tablet from Cody, bringing it to his face as he read over the words. He recognized the words as his Master’s strange and eccentric take on the nature of the Force. The memories brought him back to happier times. 

“This is my Master’s understanding of the Force,” now somewhat grounded, he handed his datapad back to Cody, “or at least his justification of the Force.”

  
“Justification, sir?” Cody took the tablet, raising an eyebrow, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Justification for why the Force allows for “bad things” to happen.” Obi-Wan clarified, “my old master dabbled deeply into the “grey” area of the Force, to put it kindly.”

“Sounds...interesting. Didn’t know Jedi could have a grey relationship with the Force.” Cody took a sip of his caf as he continued to read through, “thought you guys only did the light side of it.”

“Usually we don’t, but my Master was different, to put things mildly. He always had a strange way of doing things, not just related to the Force.”

“Care to elaborate?” Cody asked, his tone mirroring Obi-Wan’s amused one. 

“Well, there was leaving me with Anakin, for one.” He muttered as he scrolled to the next page, “and leaving me just in general.”

“You mean when he died?” Cody sounded genuinely confused. Afterall, Qui-Gon couldn’t control that he’d been murdered. Yet still, his general responded with a well considered, “I suppose so, yes.”

Though he stopped, his brows knitted as he searched for the rational. 

“But it was more than that. Even before he died, he was gone. He wanted to train Anakin over me, especially when he found out he was the “Chosen One”. One second I was his padawan, then suddenly I wasn’t.”

Cody now turned his gaze towards Obi-wan, “Sounds a little less gray and more inconsiderate.”

It was an honest answer. Perhaps the least biased Obi-wan had heard of his old master.

Nevertheless, it had put Obi-Wan...off. 

Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow in shock. Cody had always been candid, especially when it was just the two of them. In fact Obi-wan had encouraged such transparency, especially where he himself was blinded by his own beliefs and reservations.. Cody often offered a sense of clarity and logic where Obi-Wan typically had none. Still, such a blatant condemnation of his old Master’s actions--against him no less-had been completely unexpected. 

“I wouldn’t call it inconsiderate.” Obi-wan leveled the edge slowly rising in his voice. He didn’t want to come off as overly defensive, but he couldn’t hide the fact that it had struck an uncomfortable chord. 

“Maybe unprofessional?” Cody suggested, none the wiser to Obi-Wan’s shifting mood, “or just plain neglectful. I couldn’t imagine one of my COs passing the torch onto me when I wasn’t ready. Or any of my brothers for that matter. I mean it happens, men die and the chain of command goes on, but intentionally. No. Never. We’d never expose one of our men to something they weren’t ready for.”   
  


“Chosen one or not.” Obi-Wan did not miss the sardonic tone in that last sentence. Cody, like his brothers, were not too fond of “jedi mysticism” or “Force Bullshit” as he’d heard tossed around in the barracks, and on a good day Obi-wan could understand why. 

But today…

He was tired, and seemed to have left one battle just to walk into another, and unlike the previous he did not have his saber to protect him. Cody was picking at wounds he had long since buried. 

“ _ Anakin _ was a worthy student to train,” still leveled, Obi-Wan defended his Master’s choice, “ if leaving me was needed to bring him to greatness, then it was a sacrifice I was glad to make.”

Cody had picked up Obi-wan's emphasis on Anakin, and regardless of his demeanour had noticed the way in which he gauraded himself. 

_ Shit.. _

He was presented with two choices--back off and leave Obi-Wan to his work and his thoughts (as he should as his Commander), or proceed in prodding some sense into the man.    
  


There was something eerily familiar about this conversation, strangely personal, and Cody felt the need to get to the bottom of it. 

“Yeah, I felt the same way about Jango.” 

There was normal tension--hanging in the air, static charged--existing after a rather nasty fight between brothers in the barracks. It happened more often than Cody would have liked. With the war ramping up, and the clones realizing just their place in the grand scheme of things, anger had become commonplace in their living quarters. Cody often found himself scaling the levels of Coruscant just to get away from it. 

And regardless, he could get away from it. Even  _ exist  _ in it if there was nowhere to go. Usually it was dispelled with a few stern words from a commander or two, and the tension eased out. 

And then there was Jedi tension. That was normal tension on spice. Doom could tell them  _ all  _ about that, as he often found himself in the midst of his twin general’s disagreements. But at least Doom was not the target of them. 

Cody was. 

To say that the air had gotten cold was an understatement. It was heavy, suffocating, and audible. It was like Cody could hear cracking around him, and his brothers shifted uneasily around the mess hall, all heads discreetly turning to their commanding officers. 

“My master was  _ nothing  _ like Jango Fett.” 

Ahh. There it was. Cody had finally struck a nerve. Perhaps it was a dumb move to compare the man who had practically raised him (had he, though? Cody was not entirely sure what role a Master played in a Padawan’s life) to the man who had tried to kill him. 

Still, he matched his General’s expression with a blank one. 

_ Don’t say shit Cody, just apologize, clear the air, and-- “ _ He may not be like Jango Fett, but Fett chose Boba over us and would do it a hundred times over if he could. I tried to rationalize it too, when I was coming up. “ 

“He didn’t “choose anakin” over me.” Now the edge had reared its ugly head, and Obi-wan was keeping him from going into hysterics over a simple disagreement, “He simply moved on as he believed I was ready for knighthood.”

There was a lie written all over that. 

“Well were you?” Cody countered, Obi-wan near envious of the way he managed to keep his calm and collected demeanor,  _ ironically  _ like Jango. 

“...I…”

“You told me Masters and Padawans were bonded once. Would he not have known if you were ready or not?” Cody supplied, all while internally screaming. 

There was another defining silence. Cody took it as an opportunity to kick the hornet's nest. 

“Listen, General.” He sighed, perhaps the only indication that this conversation had taken any sort of toll on him, as Obi-wan had practically marveled as his immaculate composer even through is disbelief, “it’s...hard to admit the people we looked up too were awful to us. Qui--”   
  
“That’s  _ Master  _ Qui-Gon Jinn to you,” Obi-Wan stood, abruptly, snagging the data pad from Cody’s hand as he did, “and he was not awful to me, and nothing like Jango Fett. I don’t know what history you experienced with that bounty hunter, but I assure you it was nothing remotely similar to mine.”

Obi-wan was gone, taking the data pads and holorcrone with him as he exited. The clones surrounding him averted their gaze as their general walked by, only turning to look in his wake. 

“Are you trying to get court martialed, commander?” Waxer called from the other side of the dinning hall. 

Cody had not responded. In fact, the absence of his general and that damned Force had left him  _ trembling.  _

Out of anger, out of fear, out of worry? He didn’t know, but he felt sick to his stomach.    
  
Cody had no idea what had caused him to push such a sensitive line, especially when he knew it was a sorespot of his Generals. Perhaps it really had been the fact that Cody could relate, and he wanted so, so badly for Obi-wan to understand that what happened to him wasn’t right. Because he wished he had someone to tell  _ him  _ earlier, because he cared so, so deeply for Obi-wan that he couldn’t bear to see him trapped in some sense of false hope. 

(Cody’s breath caught in his throat as his mind drifted to darker times on Kamino. Time he was stuck training under Jango Fett. It had been hell. Worse than hell)

  
Because Qui-Gon did not care about him. Not how he thought. 

But was it even Cody’s place? Had he misunderstood and skewered the lines of their supposed friendship. He had always considered the General more than a commanding officer. Their shared history extended past the battle field, and often they found themselves in one another’s company during their off time. Perhaps that was simply the general’s way of building rapport--perhaps Cody had taken advantage of what they had* or what he believed it was. 

It was like his legendary filter had broken, and he could not stop himself from speaking. He was just passionate, he supposed. Though obviously, passion had no place in this discussion. 

\--

The moment his door hissed closed, Obi-wan resisted the urge to hurl his damned data pad at the wall. He was a mess, and absolutely livid that he’d let himself appear as such in front of Cody. He didn’t know what bothered him most, the fact that what Cody had said had a terrifying level of truth to it, or that he had lost his temper with Cody. 

He collapsed on his bed, forging his plan to smash the objects in his hand and instead letting them fall with him. It was never his intention to lose his temper with Cody--not Cody. Especially when Cody was one of the few people who deeply cared about him and respected him. 

But Qui-Gon….he had spent so many years defending his experience with him, almost to the point of being protective of the image he’d created of him. He wanted so badly to be Qui-Gon’s student and had learned to accept and rationalize everything the man had done to him, including leaving him for Anakin. 

A part of him believed that he should be grateful for whatever Qui-Gon did to him. Afterall, he didn’t have to take him, but he did. 

And yet...his life had been an emotional rollercoaster full of twists and turns Obi-Wan had not returned from. 

It had been devastating at the moment, and unaddressed it had begun to fester into a deep hole that had permanently found residence in his heart. 

Cody had poked at it that day. 

He had been right though, at least to an extent. He spoke from personal experience, and what was worse was that Obi-Wan had dismissed it. Cody had given him a small glimpse of his very complicated, complex upbringing, and Obi-wan had shoved it in his face. 

And still, Obi-Wan’s defenses came rushing to prop his Master up. To protect his image, to rationalize what had happened. If not all of it, then some of it, at least. 

He groaned, raking a hand through his hair. This was a disaster, and as a Jedi Master, it was embarrassing. He should have had better control of his emotions.

Standing, Obi-wan crossed the space between his bed and his door. Even if he couldn’t agree with himself about his Master’s treatment of him, the least he could do was apologize for his behavior.

As he made to click open the door, the metal parted before he had a chance to do it himself. Standing sheepishly on the other side was--

“Cody!” 

“General!”

Simultaneously, both clone and Jedi spoke at once. 

“You first.” Cody spoke. 

“Yes, of course.” Now it was Obi-wan’s turn to look sheepish, “I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier today. It was completely inappropriate, and disrespectful.”

  
In the hallway, troopers walking by turned to look at their commanding officers, only redirecting the gaze front-and-center when Cody cast a stern look over his shoulder. 

“Do you mind if I come inside?” Cody interrupted, becoming cautiously aware of the troopers around them,

“Oh, not at all.” Obi-Wan stepped to the side, allowing Cody access to his quarters. It wasn’t the first time Cody had been in here, and it wouldn’t be the last. There had been numerous late night conversations, failed attempts at mediation, and thoughtful silences between the two here. Therefore, finding his familiar spot on the chair, covered unceremoniously by Obi-wan’s robe, Cody settled himself down. 

Obi-wan took his place on the bed. 

“Now that it’s just the two of us,” he cleared his throat, placing his hands squarely on his lap, “I want to formally apologize for my actions. How I acted in the mess hall--how I dismissed your experiences with Jango was completely inappropriate.”

Obi-wan breathed, steeling himself against the emotion that threatened to break him with his next words. 

“You were right about my Master, Qui-Gon. You were so very right, Cody.” Obi-wan admitted in a single breath, his throat nearly catching in his throat as he willed himself forward, “I suppose I was so defensive of him because he meant so much to me, and acting as if he was anything but perfect seemed like a betrayal to him. Everyone loved him. I saw no reason as to why I should not, even with all he put me through. I suppose I didn’t want this realization to turn into something else, either.”

Silence stretched on as Obi-wan’s acknowledgement hanged between them. It was both a liberating and terrifying thing to admit.

“What are you afraid of?” Cody broke the silence, his voice barely above a whisper. Obi-Wan looked up at golden eyes, full of nothing but love and concern. He had never felt more safe to be himself. 

“I’m afraid i’ll hate him, Cody. And not just him, but Anakin too. I’m afraid of jealousy, of abandonment, of pure disdain. There was so much I never got to say to him, and not all good. Not in the least. And to throw Anakin on me? To force me to watch the very child he had abandoned me for. How could I not hate, how could I not be devastated.” Obi-wan’s voice had risen, and he’d begun to furiously pull at the fabric of his pants, “But what if I do allow myself to realize this? How far will I go, how much will these emotions tear into me, Cody? Will I be able to release them into the Force? And what if I can’t? Will I fall to--”

Cody held a hand up and cleared his throat, immediately getting Obi-Wan’s attention. 

“You won’t ‘fall’ Obi-wan, not for being upset. You won’t fall anymore for hating your master than I did Jango Fett.” Cody affirmed, “but if you let it fester like you have, it will follow you  _ everywhere  _ and will affect everything you do.” 

“I suppose you’re right,” Obi-wan began, chuckling darkly, “you seem more of a Jedi now than I ever have, Cody.”

“I learned from the best.” He offered gently. 

“Is it wrong though, If I don’t hate him?” Obi-wan spoke, as if ashamed to admit he still cared for his master, “even with everything he did. Surely he didn’t know what he was doing.”

Cody leaned back, considering the words carefully. It was one of those rare times in which Obi-Wan latched onto everything he said, every word he spoke. 

“It’s not wrong--no,” Cody supplied, “And it doesn’t make you a bad person if you do ever start to dislike him. It’s a complicated thing. There are some days I crave Jango for the father he could have been and am prepared to defend his actions against anyone. And on other days, I’d kill him if given the chance.”

“Do you hate him?” Obi-wan’s question had caught him off guard, even though it shouldn’t have. For all the preaching he’d given about Jango less than thirty minutes, he still had yet to label his own relationship with his clone template. 

“I don’t love him.” He concluded, “But I don’t know if I hate him, even if I feel like it at times. Like I said, ask me tomorrow and the answer will be completely different”

They sat in silence, a comfortable silence. At least until Obi-wan breaks it. 

“I’m sorry I reacted the way I did in front of people.”

  
“It…” wasn’t okay, it never was. The dynamic between them was too large for it ever to be okay. So he sufficed with a soft, “You had your reasons.”

“They were shitty.” Obi-wan chuckled weakly, “please let me apologize to you infront of our men. I need them to know that it’s not appropriate for me to treat you like that.”

“Sir, I-I really don’t think that’s necessary.” Cody began to stammer, his face heating up, “I can just let them know we made up in your quarters. They’ll trust me, honest Sir!” 

For a multitude of reasons, he really, really did not need that. 

“I understand, but still, I would love to. If I can treat their commander like that when he’s off duty, what do they think of themselves. I need to make this--”

_ “Sir, enemy ships approaching out of hyperspace!” _

They hadn’t even the energy to look concerned,  _ or  _ jump to their feet. Commander and General simply stood and prepared for the long trek to the bridge, ready to join the mass of troopers running in the halls. 

“Over tea, then Commander?”

“Excuse me?” Cody raised a tired brow, picking up pace to match his general’s increasing speed.

“If you won’t let me apologize in front of the crew, why don’t we discuss a proper apology over tea. You tell me what works best for you, and we’ll go from there.”

“Is that a date, general?” Despite the situation, and the blaring alarms, and the adrenaline spilling into his bloodstream, Cody couldn’t help but tease.

“Do you want it to be, Cody.” Obi-wan returned warmly. 

“We’ll talk after we’ve made it out of this firefight,” Cody stepped into the lift, holding it open for his brothers then ran to catch up to it, “and after we’ve gotten some sleep.”

“My quarters?” Obi-Wan tossed out, despite the growing presence of troopers shuffling around them. He didn’t care too much, any firefight could be their last and it would be nice to get Cody’s confirmation beforehand. 

Cody though, looked at his smug, star struck General, completely slack jawed. Then hurriedly slammed his bucket on his head, not wanting his men to see how much darker he’d turned. The man had an unpleasant knack for throwing his business in the open. 

“We’ll talk  _ after  _ we’ve made it out of this firefight,” he repeated, his tone efficiently silencing the small laughter of the troopers around them. 

**Author's Note:**

> Cheesy--I know. 
> 
> *I always hc cody and obi-wan as that pair that falls in love w/out realizing it. They’ll be the ones who’re married without truly ever really stating it. They just fall into place
> 
> Also Obi-Wan is such a clown. If he and Cody were students in the same class, he’d get Cody in so much trouble lmao. 
> 
> Obi-wan totally still apologized to Cody in front of the men, after their date. 
> 
> Anyway this is a story i've always wanted to write, basically it's about Cody helping Obi-Wan understand that it's okay to dislike and hold Qui-Gon accountable for his treatment of him, while Cody compares his experience with Jango. 
> 
> I'll also probably write a prequel/AU in which Wolffe works with Cody to realize that Jango was not the best to them, or in which Obi-Wan relays his experience with Obi-Wan. We'll see. 
> 
> This also stemmed from my thoughts on Jango and the clones, in which he isn't thought to be the best to them outside of fanfiction. Trust me, though. I will go out of my way to redeem him in my other writings, or at least go more into depth with him. It would be wrong to demonize him while propping up the Jedi, considering they're in the same boat imo.
> 
> Please tell me what you think let me know how you felt about it! My tumblr is myinkandtrees.tumblr.com if you wanna chat!


End file.
